Recipe :: Spam Musubi

Spam musubi is love.

Ever since the last spam boom on my social media (ie. the avalanche of responses to my spam fries video nearly broke my internet), it’s an irrefutable fact that everyone is craaaaaaaazy in love with spam. I wanted to make something else with spam and Spam Musubi was the first thing that came to mind immediately.

As the world knows, Spam Musubi is quintessentially Hawaiian and it’s the any time any day snack enjoyed by everyone there. I don’t recall eating spam in Hawaii though, but I must have since there’s no escaping spam in the 808. I’m pretty sure it had snuck into my loco moco bento one way or the other while I was there.

I didn’t know that there is such a thing called Spam Musubi Maker (whaatttt!?!). It’s basically a rice press and the only function of this device is to compress cooked rice to form a rice cake. I want one! Since I didn’t have any on hand, I had to improvise. I ended up using the empty spam can to mold my rice cake and it worked just as well. No… it worked out even better! Because the yummy greasy goo left on the inner sides of the can got soaked into my rice cake and gave it additional flavor. Upcycling FTW.

I also sprinkled two kinds of furikake – dry Japanese seasoning – which I had in my pantry. Namely: dried perilla leaves rice seasoning with plum aroma called Mishima Yukari Shiso and a sweet Japanese shrimp powder called Sakura Denbu which sports a cute bright pink color.

In my Spam Musubi iteration, I cut out the middle part of the spam slices and cracked a quail’s egg into it. Not for any particular reason other than flair. Also made my own zippy teriyaki glaze that gives Spam Musubi a sweet savory oomph.

For years, whenever I think of teriyaki sauce, a sing-song voice pops into my head: ♬ soy sauce, sugar, mirin… soy sauce, sugar, mirin ♬.

I used to make a lot of stuff at home using teriyaki sauce (grilled chicken, stir fry beef, vegetables, etc.) and one day ran out of the bottled stuff. So I looked up the recipe and was surprised at how easy it was to DIY. I made up the song in my head right before heading out to the grocery store one day to pick up a bottle of mirin, as a memory aid, and the tune hasn’t left my head since. Three ingredients to make basic teriyaki sauce, that’s it.

SPAM MUSUBI

1 can spam
8 quail’s eggs
1 cup rice
2 sheet nori seaweed
2 Tb soy sauce
2 Tb mirin
2 Tb sugar
1 cup furikake (any style)

Cook rice in ricecooker. When rice is cooked, use the spam can as a mold to form a rice cake. Make 8 rice cakes and sprinkle with any furikake of your choice. Cut a sheet of nori into four long pieces, and wrap rice cakes with it. Take spam out of can and cut into 8 slices. Cut out a rectangle from the middle of every spam slice. Pan-fry spam slices in oiled pan until crispy and brown. Turn over once and crack a quail’s egg into the cut out rectangle. After the eggs are cooked, place on top of rice cake.

To make teriyaki glaze: Combine soy sauce, mirin, and sugar into pan and cook over low heat until it thickens. Glaze over Spam Musubi and serve immediately.

I have such fond memories of Hawaii and can’t wait to go there again. Blissful sigh, making Spam Musubi brought back many happy memories of clear blue skies, stunning no-filter-necessary sunsets, oh-so-refreshing ocean breeze, sunny days that make you happy to be alive, fragrant floral-scented air, friendly post office staff, and plenty of yummy local Hawaiian eats.

I dug into my archive and compiled some photos circa 2004 trip. WHOA, that’s a super long time ago and A-HA!!! I found visual evidence of a slice of spam hiding inside my Zippy’s bento box in one of the photos.

*Happy sigh*~ I was an ardent foodie traveler even back then. I remember the coco puffs from Liliha Bakery were awesome! And also the breakfast at Eggs N’ Things. GUAVA SYRUUUUUUUP… :9~ Hm, I may need to refresh my palate memory soon. Must plan 808 trip! Does anyone else find that parking meter box in which you have to manually insert folded bills and coins as amusing as I do? Honor system, *chuckles*. I love you, Hawaii.